Today's shit

Design of an algal/biotic fuel source:
Needs an "ignition key" that would be easy to produce, cheap, abundant/easily recyclable, but not readily/immediately available in natural settings to avoid the outbreak of a modified organism.

The supply of energy for CO₂ anabolism is common to all photosynthetic organisms which exhibit photosynthesis. Energy conversion, ATP synthesis and the production of both CO₂ and hydrogen on the other hand, are not unique to photosynthetic organisms, but occur in all types of microorganisms, and are in fact similar to the respiratory processes which occur in mitochondria of higher organisms.

Two types of photosynthesis are distinguishable on the basis of source of the electrons used as energy carriers. In plants such as green algae, and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), water is the electron source, while in photosynthetic bacteria, organic or sulfur compounds provide electron sources.

Then there are some bacteria that produce hydrogen directly, but currently their overall sunlight to combustion efficiency is about 7%:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7241e/w7241e06.htm#2.2.2%20bacterial%20photosynthesis

I want a really nice microscope. I want a really high-quality, cheap way to make a quick high-resolution, high magnification digital image of a large area of cell culture for computer vision analysis and automatic cell counting.

A possible means to achieve this using optics would be a CNC like platform which moved the viewing stage about a matrix. If this could be performed fast enough you could consistently monitor a biological culture. Along with oxygen, CO2 levels, pH, maybe the resistance/electrical conductivity (could that tell me the ionic concentration/ionic charge).

Or maybe a prism or something; fiber optics maybe, dunno about the resolution ceiling for that, or fiber diameter floor...

auto cell counter:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1974.tb03697.x

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_nutrient

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avitaminosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_inference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy

Gooood photosynthesis page:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7241e/w7241e06.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpirational_pull

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmotic_pressure

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_point

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catabolism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crista

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_adipose_tissue

http://www.springerlink.com/content/u1uh281174pj0l84/

DNA Sense
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_(molecular_biology)

PCR "discoverer"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis
--seems like this guy is the George Hotz of PCR!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microinjection

cross-regulation of transcription factors, a conserved cell differentiation system:
http://books.google.com/books?id=bh2cOAKHU_kC&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=ectopic+ey+expression+fly+frog&source=web&ots=qSQng7L5VD&sig=hirQBQasnI90eqFQ_thI-l2sA3A#PPA17,M1

Use nitrogenase as our friend somehow???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogenase

Rhodobacter sphaeroides
http://www.hgsc.bcm.tmc.edu/projects/microbial/Rsphaeroides/

Techniques that seem wasteful/innefficient:
http://www.journalarchive.jst.go.jp/english/jnlabstract_en.php?cdjournal=bbb1961&cdvol=50&noissue=11&startpage=2837

Food stuff:

Soybean content before/after fermentation
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1967.tb00837.x